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455driver

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Maybe it will be put up for sale on ebay soon, 1 careful owner, low mileage, collection only!:lol:
 

DarloRich

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Maybe it will be put up for sale on ebay soon, 1 careful owner, low mileage, collection only!:lol:

slight body work damage, a few rust spots and some scratching to the paint work but nothing that wont polish out - change of circumstances forces owner to sell. Sold as seen. ;)
 

BestWestern

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There was a derailment at Haywards Heath in 1991 where a 57 came off and ended up down a bank... and this required a substantial amount of work involving weeks of civil engineering work to dig and shore a rebate by the track side to lift the loco from and create concrete lifting footing by the track as well.

...The cost of repeating this kind of exercise is most likely more than the vehicle is worth....

An early prototype perhaps?! :D Sorry, pedant switch to 'OFF'!

I agree that the loco is probably simply not worth salvaging. I would imagine the leasing company are most irked by it all!

A serious question though; assuming the asset was insured - if it's owned by a bank then they may well be self-insured of course, but just for argument's sake - would a policy pay out for it bearing in mind that it remains intact, albeit damaged? A curious thought!
 

millemille

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An early prototype perhaps?! :D Sorry, pedant switch to 'OFF'!

I agree that the loco is probably simply not worth salvaging. I would imagine the leasing company are most irked by it all!

A serious question though; assuming the asset was insured - if it's owned by a bank then they may well be self-insured of course, but just for argument's sake - would a policy pay out for it bearing in mind that it remains intact, albeit damaged? A curious thought!

It'll most likely be insured with Lloyds.

If the cost of recovering and repairing the asset is more than the residual value of the asset then it's a write off.
 

BestWestern

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It'll most likely be insured with Lloyds.

If the cost of recovering and repairing the asset is more than the residual value of the asset then it's a write off.

So they'll pay out and just leave it where it is? Presumably they'll then own the salvage rights, but are unlikely to ever want to recover it for scrap?
 

EM2

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The home of the concrete cow
After derailing near Corrour seven months ago, it has been deemed uneconomic to recover 66 734 from the ledge on which it currently rests.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/transp...e-due-to-costs-1-2783536#.URdkaKPEtsA.twitter

ALASTAIR DALTON in The Scotsman said:
Owners write off derailed locomotive due to costs

A LOCOMOTIVE which ploughed down an embankment in the Highlands after a landslide is to be cut up because it is too expensive to recover.

The freight engine, named the Eco Express, will be cannibalised for spare parts despite escaping serious damage, although experts said it was “incredibly unusual” to write off a locomotive that was only ten years old.

It has not been moved since it struck a boulder on a remote stretch of the Glasgow-Fort William line above Loch Treig more than seven months ago, which is three miles from the nearest road. The driver, who escaped injury, was rescued by helicopter.

Operator GB Railfreight is understood to have explored several salvage options, including upgrading a 17-mile track from one of the closest stations so the locomotive could be taken out by lorry. However, they were all ruled out because the cost involved was estimated at more than £1 million.

Difficulties hampering the recovery included the awkward position of the 70ft-long locomotive, which has been covered and tethered with cables to prevent it falling further down the steep embankment towards the loch.

No rail crane able to lift the 130-tonne locomotive is available, and it has been deemed too difficult to bring in a crane over land because of the lack of road access. 
Instead, the engine will be taken apart and winched in sections onto rail trucks to be taken away.

The crash happened when a torrential downpour last June triggered a landslip from 250ft above the railway between Corrour and Tulloch stations. The locomotive and the front five of the train’s 24 wagons, which were carrying aluminium powder from Blyth port in Northumberland to a smelter in Fort William, were derailed.

The UK Department for Transport’s rail accident investigation branch said the locomotive had come to rest on a “natural ledge” on the slope, preventing it from crashing into the loch.

Network Rail, which is responsible for the line, said the locomotive would be removed in sections in the summer when the weather improved. A spokesman said: “It has to be that way, as creating the site conditions needed for a lift were prohibitive and could exceed the worth of the locomotive.”

Corrour Estate, which owns the land involved, said it had been reassured the locomotive did not pose any environmental danger.
 

D365

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"Incredibly unusual" for a 10 year old locomotive to be written off? 66521 was just a few months after it was built, although it would have been uneconomical to repair. I'll grant you that it is unusual... But the recovery of 66734 is uneconomical, with the options that are available in this fairly remote location.
 
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jopsuk

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I'm not sure you understand how inaccesible this location is. People on decent mountain bikes have been able to get to it. Hikers have been able to get to it- takes hours though. There is absolutely no road access whatsoever.

Even an Mi26 can only heave 20 tonnes- though that's mainly internal as far as I can tell, I can't find the capacity for underslung loads. Getting a helicopter in to a steep sided glen to safely lift heavy loads would be hazardous, especially with the trees. The engine I'd assume weighs more than 20 tonnes; the body too.

The operation to remove the loco in bits will require the line to be shut for the duration
 
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Imo, without suitable cranes, would be to rerail it by same the way it came off - in reverse!! Insert a set of points and put track at least to the first bogies. Shore up the embankment with thousands of sleepers etc. Then inch by inch, winch away!!!
Probably a mad suggestion, but hey! :lol:
 

jopsuk

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Yes, utterly mad. The chances of being able to do that for less than price of a new loco are low... I think people are still not understanding the terrain this is in.
 

broadgage

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Recovery does indeed look to be very challenging.
IF it is ever recovered I suspect that it might be by barge as it is near the water. No roads near, and rail access very limited.

I suspect that ultimatly it will HAVE to be recovered even if this costs many times the value of the locomotive.
In years gone by it might well have been simply abandoned, but that might not be acceptable these days for enviromental reasons.
If it is removed only to protect the enviroment and not for repair, then of course it may be cut up and removed in pieces.
 

corin paul

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With privatization, got shot of all the heavy lifting cranes. Train operateing company said "No, we run the trains. Not put them back on the tracks when there fall off." Railtrack said "No, we repair the tracks, enginers aren't our area." So the TOC sold the cranes for scrap, and Railtrack let theres rust up. And the legal owner didn't have any cranes, they just kept pick up the money for hiring the rolling stock out.

http://railphotoarchive.org/search_engine_2.php?_format=4&img=0478021916000&_PAGE=4
 
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sprinterguy

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There are still three large breakdown cranes available for use. The Bescot one in particular has been really earning it’s keep recently.

I will readily admit that I was amongst the most vehement of the nay-sayers when it was first suggested that the loco would be disposed of, but it is true that the cutting up of locos less than a decade old due to an accident is not without precedent: I wouldn’t be surprised if more classes of BR’s modernisation plan diesels and electrics could claim an example than couldn’t.
 

YorkshireBear

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Not surprised to be honest access looks imposible at best. Doubt the line will be shut surely it can be done overnight? Especially this far north in summer (which they say they are waiting for) when seasons give northern scotland almost all day light.
 

jopsuk

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With privatization, got shot of all the heavy lifting cranes. Train operateing company said "No, we run the trains. Not put them back on the tracks when there fall off." Railtrack said "No, we repair the tracks, enginers aren't our area." So the TOC sold the cranes for scrap, and Railtrack let theres rust up. And the legal owner didn't have any cranes, they just kept pick up the money for hiring the rolling stock out.

http://railphotoarchive.org/search_engine_2.php?_format=4&img=0478021916000&_PAGE=4

No crane could retrieve this loco in this location- a crane requires a stable base, especially if reaching a long way off the track. The track is cut into a steep hillside of questionable stability (going by the landslip). The availability of re-railing cranes is NOT a relevant issue.
 

455driver

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Neither is getting a barge in, the lake is landlocked so how do you get (a big enough) barge onto the lake in the first place.

If they got a rail crane there and they tried to lift a big bit of the loco (engine or alternator etc) all that will happen is that the ground and track under the crane would collapse and the crane would join the loco.

Believe it or not some clever people have gone up there, had a look at it, took some measurements and decided it cannot be realistically recovered in one piece.
 

jopsuk

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Quite. Some posters in this thread still don't seem to have wrapped their heads round quite how remote and awkward a location this is.
 

38Cto15E

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I have had to start a new thread as the original one is closed.

Yesterday i travelled along the West Highland line on the 0603 Mallaig to Glasgow Queen Street, I was the only passenger on the train from Mallaig to Glenfinnon.:lol:

Anyway, just a quick update the Class 66 is still in the same position between Tulloch and Corrour and still sheeted over.
At a rough guess it is halfway along Loch Treig and there is a short boom in the Loch to contain any oil spillages etc to help with spotting the 66.
I did ask the lady guard if she had any information as to what was to happen to the loco, she said it would be cut up, but this info is unconfirmed.
 

gage75

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does anyone know the latest on GBRf's 66734 at Loch Trelloch
 

Boothby97

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Still down the embankment on the Far North Line near Tulloch. Still no developments I've heard of, but I believe it's pending disposal, and is off lease.
Thanks, Sam
 

Gronky

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Hi 455driver
Please can you PP me if you know who is dealing with the recovery of 66734.
I have a colleague who may be able to recover her and was looking for information and contacts. Thanks.
 

38Cto15E

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Two weeks ago I passed the 66 on the Sleeper, I managed to get a piccie of sorts.
The loco was still sheeted over, I thought it may be closer to the rails than 3 months ago, but probably my sleepy imagination. :lol:
 

455driver

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Hi 455driver
Please can you PP me if you know who is dealing with the recovery of 66734.
I have a colleague who may be able to recover her and was looking for information and contacts. Thanks.

I dont know who is dealing with it, who runs the nearest scrapyard up there?;)
 

SimonC

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Havent heard anything (fact or otherwise) re the cutting of 734 which was advised as expected to be happening this summer? Anyone got any news?

Cheers
Simon
 
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